Job Description

Essential Functions:
1. Provides critical psycho-social support to palliative care patients through the palliative care services consult team.
2. Uses their professional background and skills to assist the team and facilitate patient/family meetings and assists team, attending physicians, staff, and patient and family in the clarification of the goals of care and the plan of care.
3. Assists the Palliative Care Program Director in ensuring excellent patient care services, coordinating educational and outreach services, leading quality improvement initiatives, and linking team efforts with other hospital departments and with outpatient and community services.
4. Ability to work successfully and cooperatively on a multi-disciplinary team; and to foster and enhance inter-professional and team relationships within palliative care service and all levels of the organization.
5. Participates in system-wide Palliative Care Program meetings or activities to assure program objectives are being accomplished and patient care needs are effectively met.
6. Coordinates team efforts with appropriate hospital support departments to ensure smooth discharge planning and clear follow-up post discharge; may assist in the development of creative community or system care options for patients.
7. Serves as a liaison with the hospital hospice and other community hospices, home health, and nursing homes to ensure care coordination and appropriate assignments and resource allocation to meet patient needs throughout the continuum of care.

Job Responsibilities:
1. Participation in the interdisciplinary palliative care services team and provision of direct patient care and appropriate related services to the patient and family.
Palliative Care Social Worker
2. Facilitation of formal and informal meetings regarding patient and family communication and decision making.
3. In collaboration with team members, develops Palliative Care Support Group and conducts meeting.
4. Participation in the development and review of appropriate protocols and processes that support appropriate referral and consistent care.
5. Participation in developing and implementing appropriate measures of patient care quality and satisfaction.
6. Attendance at interdisciplinary team meetings to review active cases.
7. Attendance at monthly and periodic team meetings for the operational and administrative functions of the palliative care service.
8. Development delivery of appropriate educational initiatives within the hospital or in other settings.
9. Ad hoc activities to support educational and outreach goals of the palliative care Service.
11. Acts as spokesperson for the palliative care program at the hospital's discretion.
12. Works closely with hospital leadership to enhance the palliative care service's community outreach to physicians, the public, healthcare facilities and other
applicable organizations in the community.
13. Assists in the development and coordination of bereavement program at the hospital, and coordination with the hospice.
14. Participation in institution-wide education efforts involving staff social workers, social work interns and students.
15. Participation in ongoing research and quality improvement projects on an as-needed basis.

Qualifications

Required:

1. MSW from an accredited school of social work.
2. LCSW required with relevant end-of-life / acute care experience; will consider experienced candidates with LSW working toward LCSW
3. 1-3 years of inpatient experience preferred

4. Will consider recent graduates of a graduate SW program with concentration in palliative care with LSW, NJ.

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